The Healthy Tip Corner

Monday, February 13, 2012

"The Flip"....StudyBlue Online Flashcards

The line at the end of this video, “The Flip”, really made me think. I wrote it down in my planner and circled it as I watched this video for the first time.

Between the front and back of the card is you.....Learning.
Isn’t that so simple and true? Think about it. You have your flashcards and you are all ready to study. You look at the front, flip it over and look at the back. But as you are flipping it, you pause and take in all of the knowledge and ideas that you have about that specific topic. Then you turn it into the answer that you are looking for on the back of the card.

Have you ever thought about “the flip” like that before?

When I was in high school and college, I created flashcards for just about everything I learned about and studied. I created them when I was learning about the different parts of our government; for the geometry test that I took over three times; and for my college geology class when I cut out photographs I took in Colorado the summer before to show the various geologic landforms I was learning about.

On the front of the card, I wrote a term, a thought, a place, a math problem. I even drew a picture sometimes.

And on the back of the card, I wrote the definition, the answer, the solution to the problem, the destination of where my thoughts took me.

I spent hours creating these cards. Sometimes I couldn’t put everything I needed to on them. I was often the only one to use them. And I always had to create my own.

With StudyBlue, we now have the capability to create beautiful, digital flashcards that can contain more than just these elements. They can now contain embedded images and audio. They can be shared online with others. We can keep them organized in our own online Backpack and can search for flashcards that others have already created about the topics we are studying. Quizzes can be easily created with one click and progress is monitored and praised.

Studyblue is more than just a tool which simplifies an age old way of studying with flashcards.

StudyBlue makes us better. It gives us a platform that brings together the things we need to be successful in our learning. It is mobile so it can be with us when we need it....on the go, at school, at home....wherever that place might be.

And it gives us a place to enjoy learning. To make it fun. To make it something we can share. To be proud of what we are achieving.

I know that if I would have had StudyBlue as a student, I would have had “more” in between the front and the back of the card. I would have been better prepared and informed. I would have taken my learning to a different level. I would have been able to share and gain knowledge from others.

Our students today are lucky. They have what is important between the front and back of the card.
It is them.....